Texas Rangers Blog

Deft bit of roster construction leaves Rangers in position to add eighth All-Star

ARLINGTON – Manager Ron Washington apparently didn’t spend as much time deciding which Ranger starting pitcher to put on his 2012 All-Star roster as he did figuring out how to get both of his top starters: LHP Matt Harrison and RHP Yu Darvish.

So, he chose Harrison and put Darvish on the ballot for the final man.

Given Darvish’s profile and his popularity and the likelihood he will got a ton of votes from Japan, he should have a much easier path to winning the vote than Harrison would. Darvish is contending for the spot with Kansas City reliever Jonathan Broxton, LA Angels reliever Ernesto Frieri, Baltimore starter Jason Hammel and Chicago White Sox starter Jake Peavy.

Washington used two of his manager’s choice selections for Rangers in Harrison and reliever Joe Nathan.

Asked if he chose Harrison over Darvish because Darvish would have a better chance to win the online vote, Washington stopped short.

“You can steer it anyway you want,” Washington said. “But the bottom line is they are all three all-stars. Matt is having an outstanding year.”

And the the truth is, of the two, Harrison probably deserves the spot more. Harrison (11) has one more win than Darvish. Harrison also has a better ERA (3.16 to 3.57) and more innings (105.1 to 95.2). Darvish has a wide lead in strikeouts (106-65).